Feb. 23, 2013

Lifelong transit rider Katherine Gagne, left, talks with Sean White with Indy Connect during a rally in support for mass transit at the Statehouse, Feb. 13, 2013. Gagne said she was excited about the long overdue talk about transit and is hopeful that there will be more. 'For those of us who don't drive,' said Gagne, 'it's a quality of life issue.' / Kelly Wilkinson / The Star

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Amber Collins makes a new sign during a rally in support for mass transit at the Statehouse, Feb. 13, 2013. / Kelly Wilkinson / The Star

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CLEVELAND — There is no part of Indianapolis that looks quite as bad as the Near Eastside of Cleveland used to look.

While we have streets that don’t have sidewalks and collect small lakes of water every time it rains, Cleveland, like the more industrial Midwestern cities of Gary and Detroit, had blocks upon blocks of empty houses, businesses and factories.

“Post-industrial blight” is what the experts call it. “Depressing” is what I always called it when my parents would drive through that part of Cleveland to visit relatives or, later, when I would drive myself through those streets to get downtown.

But times change — even in a recession.

I saw it firsthand last week when I checked out the city’s nearly 5-year-old bus rapid transit system, dubbed the HealthLine.

What used to be urban devastation, save an oasis of a church here or a family-run business there, is now on the verge of a comeback. New office buildings are being built, along with apartments, condos, businesses and research facilities.

RTA, Cleveland’s transit agency, estimates that a mix of public, private and nonprofit entities have invested more than $4 billion along the nine-mile stretch of Euclid Avenue, where the HealthLine runs.

“People ask me all the time was the HealthLine worth it,” said Jim Haviland, executive director of MidTown Cleveland community development corporation. “And I always say, ‘Absolutely.’ ”

In Indianapolis, it’s easy to forget that one of the biggest arguments for why we need more transit is to spur residential and commercial development in the urban core. As in Cleveland, developers long ago lost interest in inner-city neighborhoods and have been building in the suburbs. The city’s tax base has suffered as a result — and with that, schools and city services.

For years, that trend has seemed unstoppable. But with a younger generation of workers inclined to live in well-connected urban neighborhoods, there’s an opportunity for Indianapolis to reclaim residents and, with them, businesses and tax dollars.

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But still, it’s up to cities to give residents and developers a reason to come back. And often that reason revolves around transit.

Take Cleveland, for example.

The planning for Euclid Avenue started years ago with the goal of connecting Downtown with Cleveland State University, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals a few miles away. City officials wanted to create an economic development corridor. Or as Haviland puts it, “a linear research park in the middle of the city.”

Transit came up immediately as a method for doing this. First rail, but then the cheaper bus rapid transit. There also are dedicated bike lanes.

The key to making it work, though, was changing the zoning code to support the new infrastructure. So now, any new buildings must be constructed set back only a few feet from Euclid Avenue with small parking lots in the rear. The city also banned standalone restaurants with drive-throughs to encourage developers to go for larger commercial projects instead.

“The idea was to bring back density,” Haviland said.

It seems to be working.

The value of real estate along Euclid Avenue has doubled since the HealthLine opened, and the rental rates have jumped from about $8 per square foot to $12. Young entrepreneurs, mostly in life sciences, are moving into new buildings along the corridor, including a 128,000-square-foot business incubator that’s almost full.

A mix of apartments is going up. So far, there’s a mixed-income building and a apartment complex for senior citizens. Next up, the goal is to add a few market-rate residential developments.

Indeed, the change has been remarkable.

But it wasn’t always perfect. Phyllis Cleveland, a member of the Cleveland City Council, said initially, use of the HealthLine was “kind of slow and people thought it was a boondoggle.” Looking five years out, though, she says it has been a “great benefit” to her ward on the Near Eastside.

This should serve as a reminder to all of us in Indianapolis to look at the big picture. To think about the long-term potential of the decisions we make today about mass transit.

Because, if a carefully planned bus rapid transit line can do all of this for Cleveland, just imagine what it can do for the urban core of Indianapolis.